Neighbors proud of Megawati, but...

Bambang Nurbianto, Jakarta

This is the first in a series of stories on the five presidential candidates in the eyes of their neighbors.

Several residents of the Kebagusan area in South Jakarta say they are proud to be neighbors of President Megawati Soekarnoputri -- but this doesn't mean they'll vote for her.

Sabilillah, a coconut cocktail vendor, said on Thursday dozens of locals regularly waited on the corner of the road near his kiosk every time their famous neighbor came home from her official residence in Central Jakarta.

"They gather on the corner of this road when presidential officers are deployed here. It indicates that Ibu will come. They just want to see her smile and wave," he said, while attending to customers.

Sabilillah's house is only separated by a vacant lot from Megawati's on Jl. Kebagusan IV No. 45, neighborhood unit 10 (RT- 10), community unit 4 (RW-4).

In front of the president's house, there is a 1,000-square- meter parking lot that according to Darman, an elderly resident, was rented by Megawati before she become a president.

He said that the plot was used for the gatherings of her Indonesian Democratic Party of Struggle (PDI-P) and other events organized by the first family.

Darman said while he was proud to be her neighbor, the locals had not seen significant changes in the neighborhood after she was elected as a president.

"The road here is better after the government placed paving stones here, but it is only around this immediate area. As you can see, the trench only surrounds her house," he told The Jakarta Post.

In the legislative election in April, the PDI-P was only the second most popular party in the neighborhood, eclipsed by the Muslim-based Prosperous Justice Party (PKS), which also won the most votes in Jakarta. In 1999, neighbors contributed to a 100 percent victory for PDI-P, Marhasan, the neighborhood unit head said.

An ojek (motorcycle taxi) driver in the area, who asked not to be named, said many people in the area were disappointed because little had improved for them after Megawati became president.

Sabilillah said the responsibilities Megawati had meant she now had to pay attention not only to her neighbors but also to the entire Indonesian nation.

Marhasan said he did not know whether Megawati would get a large vote of support from her neighbors in the country's first- ever presidential election on July 5.

"As residents of the capital city, people here are well- informed about political issues," he said.

Megawati's campaign team had not approached them, he said.